He threw a cordon around the town and dispatched three men in a little boat to inform Captain Marcus of the success of his expedition. "Well," said Jack, with a laugh, "we've got the town all right. What are we going to do with it?" "That's the question," replied Frank. "I guess, before making any further move, we had better wait for orders." "My idea, exactly," said Jack. "Since we're agreed," replied Frank, "we'll wait." CHAPTER XI FINISHING UP THE WORK It was not until somewhat late the following morning that Captain Marcus, accompanied by the commander of the British cruiser Dwarf, reached Boak. Frank and Jack were at the little wharf to greet him. After expressing a few words of commendation for the manner in which they had handled their men in the capture of the town, the two British commanders took a turn about the village. "It will be impossible for us to remain here for the sole purpose of guarding these towns," said Captain Marcus. "We have other work to do. So now the question arises as to what to do with them." "I would suggest," said the commander of the Dwarf, "that we put a prize crew aboard the German merchantman still in Duala, iron our prisoners, put them aboard her and send her home. We can make a thorough search of the town and destroy all arms and ammunition to be found." "But," said Captain Marcus, "we shall first have to dispose of those Germans who escaped to the forest." "That shouldn't be a hard job," replied the commander of the Dwarf, "I do not imagine there are many of them." "About how many would you say?" asked Captain Marcus, turning to Frank, who, with Jack, had accompanied the two officers on the tour of inspection. "Not more than a hundred, sir," was the lad's reply. "Good!" replied Captain Marcus. "Do you feel equal to the task of rounding them up?" "Perfectly, sir," Frank made answer. "So be it, then. You may act at your own discretion; only see that you make a good, swift job of it." Frank and Jack saluted and hurried away. Leaving half their force to guard the village, the lads, with the other half, which had dwindled to less than 100 by now, were soon lost to sight in the forest. They went quickly, but as silently as they could, for they wished, if possible, to take the foe by surprise. "This is likely to be, a wild goose chase," declared Jack, when, at the end of an hour of forced marching they had seen no sign of the enemy. "There is no telling where the Germans are. They know the lay of the land and we don't. If they continue to retreat, there is no telling where we may come up with them, if at all." Frank's lips set grimly. "We'll get 'em," he said, "if we have to follow 'em clear across Africa." They continued their march in silence. At length Frank drew his friends' attention to the fact that, a little to the left, the grass had been recently trampled, apparently by a considerable body of men.